Skoda Rapid : Test Drive & Review

This is a discussion on Skoda Rapid : Test Drive & Review within Official New Car Reviews, part of the Team-BHP Reviews category; Originally Posted by bosporus
The juddering in the pedal because of ABS is only when ABS kicks in, i.e., when ...

The juddering in the pedal because of ABS is only when ABS kicks in, i.e., when tyres are locking / about to lock. What you are mentioning is a disc issue - basically, uneven wear on the disc. Get it skimmed and it will all be good.

Ah! That's exactly what I was told at the service center 6 months back. But they were adamant on replacing the discs. Hope I get to talk to a competent person and get them fixed instead of replaced.

Ah! That's exactly what I was told at the service center 6 months back. But they were adamant on replacing the discs. Hope I get to talk to a competent person and get them fixed instead of replaced.

Just speak to someone senior, like a service manager - service advisors will sometimes just parrot stuff that they have been instructed to say, so helps to speak to someone with authority. VW service stations skim discs, no reason Skoda won't do it. Else, just take it to a good FNG - pretty basic job, and has no relation to any warranties, so nothing to worry about. Plus, no one can anyways figure out its been done.

One of my friends is contemplating on buying a Rapid (TDI but MT) for an upgrade from his current Swift VDi which he used for 5 years. I would like to believe he plans to keep the new car for 4-5 years atleast.

I have the following questions on which I need your good advice.

1. Considering its an MT, would you think he is thinking sensibly considering its been few years since it was launched? I'm not sure if any face-lift is impending.

2. I dont think he prefers an automatic (I can ask again) so DSG seems to be out of question. So, if not MT, would DSG be a better choice for a Rapid?

3. How is the performance of the Skoda Mahavir in Hyderabad? Owners in Hyderabad, your feedback will be much appreciated.

4. Any suggestions for other cars in that segment (Diesels only)? He extensively used his friend's Vento so I dont think he will be going for VW again. At the same time he quite likes similar driveability hence Rapid in consideration.

Thanks.

Mods, kindly shift this post if it needs to be on a more relvant thread.

One of my friends is contemplating on buying a Rapid (TDI but MT) for an upgrade from his current Swift VDi which he used for 5 years. I would like to believe he plans to keep the new car for 4-5 years atleast.

I have the following questions on which I need your good advice.

1. Considering its an MT, would you think he is thinking sensibly considering its been few years since it was launched? I'm not sure if any face-lift is impending.

2. I dont think he prefers an automatic (I can ask again) so DSG seems to be out of question. So, if not MT, would DSG be a better choice for a Rapid?

3. How is the performance of the Skoda Mahavir in Hyderabad? Owners in Hyderabad, your feedback will be much appreciated.

4. Any suggestions for other cars in that segment (Diesels only)? He extensively used his friend's Vento so I dont think he will be going for VW again. At the same time he quite likes similar driveability hence Rapid in consideration.

Thanks.

Mods, kindly shift this post if it needs to be on a more relvant thread.

1.5 TDI+DSG is an ideal combo - VW has just got the combination of engine+gearbox bang on, in this case. But if he still prefers MT, then there are 4 points worth considering :
1) although this avatar of the DSG should be bug-free by now, the MT gives a lot more peace of mind
2) the MT is much cheaper
3) on highways, the 5th gear is an automatic for all practical purposes : on 4L highways, get down to 45-50 for the slow moving truck to finish his overtake, and within a matter of seconds, get back to 100/110/120 cruising speed. The engine has loads of torque and downshifts are rarely required. If you are cruising at 80/90 on a 2L undivided highway, you can quickly get to 110/120, and within 2/3 seconds, finish overtaking that view-blocking state transport bus, without downshift, just by booting the A-pedal.
4) today, where many have already started offering the 6th gear for silent cruising, the fact that it is a 5-MT can be a deterrent.

Gave the car for service today with these complaints.
- Rare irregular idle
- Vibrations while braking from high (>120kmph) speeds
- RH power window was not working
- Small fix to the boot lid spring

I got a call back saying the power window motor has gone bad and price for the replacement is Rs.10,000. Any idea if this is correct? I checked Skoda's official list and it is not in there.

The car has wheel speed sensors for all four wheels. The ecu raises engine rpm by a couple of hundreds when it detects the car moving from a dead stop. It can be easily checked on a small incline, by letting the car coast forward in neutral, without any throttle inputs. Erratic idling may be caused by many reasons. One of the wheel speed sensors going kaput could also cause the same. An ABS warning light also might be lit, if such failure occurs.

The car has wheel speed sensors for all four wheels. The ecu raises engine rpm by a couple of hundreds when it detects the car moving from a dead stop. It can be easily checked on a small incline, by letting the car coast forward in neutral, without any throttle inputs. Erratic idling may be caused by many reasons. One of the wheel speed sensors going kaput could also cause the same. An ABS warning light also might be lit, if such failure occurs.

I too suspected the idle was raised because car was detecting movement. But usually that ends up at 900RPM and does not touch 1000RPM. The raised idle on movement works like before in my car even now.
The issue has not occurred at all in the past few days. I will observe for atleast a week more before taking to service center again. ABS warning light is not lit right now.
One more change in behavior now is that the gear upshift recommendation comes on much later than when it used to before, at close to 3K RPM I think. Downshift recommendation looks to be unchanged.

EDIT: As for the RH power window, it started working all of a sudden from yesterday . Must have been some moisture that dried up.

Last edited by nma83 : 13th August 2015 at 14:56.
Reason: power window

How is Skoda service in Chennai? I was researching for a new car for quite sometime and finally settled on Ciaz. Rapid seems to be a great product for the price, but wasnt sure about the A.S.S so didnt proceed further. Now, one of my friend started his search and his heart is with Rapid but again the same dilemma.

In this forum I see that the spares cost less and Skoda has some task force to look at the customer complaints, but still read about some outrageous behavior wrt dealers/service centers, but not sure about gurudev motors in chennai (the sole dealer here).
Any feedback welcome.

In this forum I see that the spares cost less and Skoda has some task force to look at the customer complaints, but still read about some outrageous behavior wrt dealers/service centers, but not sure about gurudev motors in chennai (the sole dealer here).
Any feedback welcome.

Sathya, What you heard about the task force etc etc are true. Every dealer wants to improve but it was the long procedures and down time of parts and the price of old Octavia parts which actually was working against them. Now that they have started a ware house in Bangalore the down time of spares have come down. The spare cost also has come down due to more localisation. In my opinion he can go ahead.

I am facing a strange problem with my rapid. The parking brake icon comes on when the vehicle is moving and i hear incessant chimes, even when the lever is in the 'off' position, under 2 circumstances :
- hitting some small potholes/bumps (sometimes not always)
- whenever the car is in 5th gearbackground : I use the parking brake for all parking (always stays in neutral when parked). This problem started immediately after moving inch-by-inch in a 2-hr traffic jam in heavy rains. I was using the parking brake very often during these 2 hrs.
I want to know (would like to be mentally prepared before I go to the skoda A.S.S on monday) whether anybody has faced this before, since I suspect some sensor failure and not the actual parking brake, since the lever works as normal.

This problem started immediately after moving inch-by-inch in a 2-hr traffic jam in heavy rains. I was using the parking brake very often during these 2 hrs.

Hey Venky, I am sorry that I couldn't br of much help in the issue here, but would really like to say that parking brakes are not supposed to be used in inch by inch moving traffic conditions. Better, just keep your right foot on the brakes. I am not saying that parking brakes would get issues if used too frequently, but that is unnecesaary and cumbersome too. As a habit, if you use parking brakes only when it comes to a halt, it is better. I observed my friend doing the same and suggested him not to too. He finds it better now.
One more thing, you should engage a gear while parking too. Though parking brakes are applied, they tend to loosen after some usage and you never know how much bite they have and if it really enough to keep it stationary.

Rapid is a good and capable car but I think isn't it getting older and the competition is getting more advanced in terms of features and comfort.

I think the new model is being sold currently in some parts of the world for more than a year, may be two. IIRC it was about to be launched in India in late 2014 but still no clues about it. While next gen Skoda Superb is being spotted testing, why is the rapid getting late!

This is the new model:

Looks like a mini Octavia and most probably the best looking in the segment! The interiors are completely new, there is more space in the car and features are also at par with the demands of the segment and can shoot up the sales for Skoda India
But sadly not available in India. Why Skoda?

Recently, while doing the third service for my Rapid Elegance TDi, the service Engineer mentioned that the software upgrade needs to be done. Since the "machine" is not functioning, I need to get the car to service station again.

Wanted to check with you folks whether the software update needs to be done for Rapid TDi?

If yes, is this to reset the parameters alone or there is a regular upgrade required.

Just got my 2nd service done at Vinayak Skoda. The total bill was about 9.7K including pick-up and drop. The driver came at the promised time and took my car for service. Got a call from the SA as soon as the car reached the service station and he mentioned all the work that would be done. He asked me if I wanted interior to be cleaned. I declined as I have a 3M package. Also, he asked me if I wanted wheel balancing & alignment done, but I declined that too as I had gotten it done recently. The car was delivered in the evening and the SA again explained all the work done and the parts changed. He did mention that I would get a call from Skoda and asked me to give a good feedback if I was happy with the work. He again followed up with a courtesy call today morning and asked me if the car was working fine and if I had any issues. He asked me to call him if I faced any problems with the car. Looks like Skoda is indeed taking it's aftersales experience seriously and trying to build their image over. Overall had a good experience with Skoda and hope no problems crop up!